Echelon-plane airship



.Fan. 29, 1929. 1,700,290 A. J. HARPSTRITE ECHE'LON PLANE AIRSHIP Filed July 18, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet l INV NTOI;

SEZQAZMEY.

Jan. 29, 1929.

A. J. HARPSTRITE ECHELON PLANE AIRSHIP Filed July 18. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORJ flfbazo strife,-

BY (JATTORNEY.

Patented .lan. 29, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,700,290 PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS J. HARPSTRITE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ECHELON-PLANE AIRSHIP.

Application filed July 18, 1927. Serial No. 206,557.

This invention relates to aerial ships and more particularly to commercial and passenger airplanes constructed and adapted for taking off from land or from water and including a cell-body or hull for a gas which is contragravitational at the surface and acts with a lifting effort to reduce the elevating burden of the tractor propellers and motors of the ship and to lessen the landing shock.

An object is to provide a heavier-than-air vessel combining a gas cell body and a system of supporting or flying planes; the purpose of the use of gas being to lighten the load and render the landing of the ship of greater ease in vessels of the larger size, such as this invention concerns.

A further object is to increase the vertical supporting effect of air by a novel arrangement of a system of airplane wings of monoplane type and also obtain a large degree of horizontal stability which is peculiar to multiplane vessels in which the planesv are in direct saperadjacent relation. Such superposed planes have no materially greater vertical support than a single plane. In my present invention my object is to obtain a large area of vertical support for settling combined with a high degree of gliding reaction for straight flying. In other words, I' aim to increase the factor of safety in descent by large wing area without losing flyin efficiency. To that end, I provide an ec elon system of monoplanes, each plane resting on undisturbed lower air strata for full vertical load support as distinguished from directly super-adjacent multiplane combinations.

An additional object is to provide for the elimination of ice accumulation on the leading or nose edge of the plane wing and therefore prevent theuntoward effect which is the result of such ice formations.

A still further object is to provide an echelon system of plane wings combined with echelon systems of tractor propellers and their motors disposed in twin groups on either side of the axis of the vessel.

Also an object is to provide dual elevators with independent lead means connecting to a common master control so that if either of the elevators gives away or is made inoperative the other forms a safety reserve, and an object is to provide alike reserve, dual rudder organization.

Other objects, advantages and features will be made manifest in the ensuing specification of the referred embodiment herewith illustrate it being understood that modifications, variations and adaptations may be resorted to within the spirit, scope and principle of the invention as it is more particularly claimed hereinbelow.

Figure 1 is a front elevation, representing the vessel afloat in water.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the vessel, as in flight, its landing Wheels being projected.

Figure 3 is a plan of the vessel.

Figure 4 is a midship cross-section of the hull structure.

Figure 5 is a detail section ofa plane nose showing a heating means therefor.

Figure 6 is a diagram of an auxiliary stabilizer rein system.

Figure 7 is a detail of the stabilizer rein release.

Figure 8 is a diagram of the dual elevator lead means and the master control.

Figure 9 is a diagram of the dual rudder control leads.

Figure 10 is a sectional view of fluid operated landing wheel.

The hull of the ship includes a central gas receiver or bod divided into a large number of cells 2 t e lowermost of which form outboard steps along the sides of which extend pontoons or chambers 3 which are connected by an inarched bottom 4. This bottom forms an elongated, gliding surface against which a cushioning body of air will be trapped at the moment of alighting on the surface of a body of water.

The medial, upright cell body is greatly elongated and constitutes a forwardly projecting prow 5 whose bottom 4 inclines upwardly from the front ends of the pontoons and terminates in an elevated pilot house 6 which is on the axis of the vessel.

In the prow is mounted a central motor 8 and the head propeller 7, each of which may be of any approved type.

The top of the cell structure consists of a suitable, elongated dome 10. The cells are filled with helium or other efiicient lifting gas to reduce the dead load weight.

and over the side pontoons are superposed cabins 11-1213; the lower cabins 11 ex tending rearward in spaced fuselage relation at 11 beyond the rear end of the dome 10.

The cabins 1112-13 overhang each other at the forward ends and provide on each side of the hull body an echelon arrangement of motor sponsons 11", 12 and 13 for motors 15 and their propellers 1G. The front faces of the sponsons incline outward and rearward from the hull body to deflect the air stream from the propellers outwardly and under correlative airplanes.

The topmost sponsons 13" flank the top of the pilot house (3 and are ust in advance of and below the level of the main or head plane 20 which spreads its length across the top cabins 13 and above the p'row 5; its wing tips far overhanging the side cabins. The wings are provided with the usual. coordinated stabilizers 21 whose control is disposed in the pilot house 6..

In carrying out my invention second and third planes 22 and 23 are mounted on the side cabins 13 and '12 and are arranged in echelonorder as to the head plane 20. Hence each plane has the full benefit of counter support from the body of air just below it when there is a down drift of the plane. At the same time a high degree of horizontal stability is obtained by the large, effective area of the multiplane structure.

The propellers 16, on each side of the ship, are set just below and in advance of the leading edges of the planes next adjacent and the wind=streams from the propellers are thrust back under the planes.

It will be seen 'that I have provided a seven motor power system including a coaxial nose propeller and a vertical gang, or row, of propellers 16 on each side of the body; the propellers of the gangs being echelon in relation longitudinally of the ship with the advantage that each propeller pulls into an undisturbed body of air.

The top or hurricane deck of the cabins 13 has observation cages 25.

The planes 22 and 23 have respective stabilizers of suitable t pe, at 26 and 27 and these are capable 0 use as auxiliaries in the event that the head stabilizers 21 should fail to function. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the auxiliary control includes an operating lever 28 from the ends of which lead cables 29 to respective blades 27 (only one of which is shown). It is desirable to hold the auxiliary stabilizers in check by a cushioning or resilient means when not in use so that they will be in a neutral position until an emergency calls for their operation. Therefore, the control lever 28 has a center arm 28" having a trip hook 29' linked to a spring 30 which acts to pull the lever 28 to an intermediate or neutral position. On de-' mand the hook 29' can be pulled to trip or release the spring 30, whereupon, the control lever 28 may be readily actuated to motivate the correlated stabilizers 27-27, or

35 and if either elevator or its leaders give away the. other forms a safety reserve which can be operated by the individual lever 32" or 33".

Similarly, duplex rudders 36- 37 having leaders 368T to levers 36 37 on a rockshaft 38 are provided for emergency. The rockshaft is operated by a master lever 89.

Under the rear end of the hull is a suitable, sliding runner 40 and disappearing land wheels 41 are provided in the front ends of the pontoons 3. These wheels operate in pockets and have pistons 42 working in cylinders 43 to which pressure fluid is supplied by conduits 44 to projector retract the wheels; the fluid acting as a shock absorber when the wheels strike ground.

A feature of the invention consists of means for heating the nose edge of the planes to prevent the accretion of ice there on. In Fig. 5, the nose edge of the plane 20 is shown as having a hot gas conduit 20 to which leads a pipe 20 conveyin hot air or exhaust gas from one or more of the power motors. This medium will melt away any ice forming on the plane nose. Other means, as electric heating units, may be employed if preferred.

In order to facilitate the banking of the ship planes when making turns in direction of flight, the successive wings, beginning at the prow, are shown of reduced length from tip to tip.

Tunnels and compartments may be provided and interconnected throughout the vessel body as may be most desirable to afford ready communication and facilitate storage of freight in the cargo chambers.

l/Vhat is claimed is: 1

1. In combination, in an airship a lighter than-air gas containing hull of insuificient capacity to carry the ship, passenger cabins extending along the sides of the hull, and a system of monoplanes in echelon arrange ment and disposed transverse to the axis of the hull, the foremost plane being the widest of the series and extending across the top of the hull uninterruptedly.

. 2. An air vessel provided with an echelon system of monoplanes stepped down and I back from the prow, and including a main,

transverse top plane and twin side sets of planes and an echelon system of propellers correlated with respective planes and arranged in advance of and relatively below respective planes so that the back wash will pass under.

3. An air vessel having a longitudinal body provided with an echelon system of monoplanes stepped rearward from the prow, and echelon gangs of tractor propellers on the sides of the body and mounted on sponsons in advance of and below respective planes.

4. An airship having a central, elongated body for containing a contragravity gas medium, and parallel pontoons built along the bottom of the body sides; the bottom of the body arching upward between the pontoons to form a concave gliding surface and having a long projecting prow in advance of the pontoons said prow having an upwardly inclined bottom plane from the pontoons.

5. An airship having a central, elongated body and parallel pontoons built along the bottom of the body sides; said body being reduced above and stepped inward from the tops of the pontoons, and passenger cabins flanking the reduced body and superposed on the pontoons.

6. An airship having a central gas containing body, lateral pontoons along the sides of its bottom, superposed, stepped back service cabins 0n the sides of the central body and over the pontoons, a main airplane wing disposed across the body and an echelon system of wings extending from the side of the cabins.

7. An airship having a central lifting-gas body structure, stepped back service cabins on the sides of the body each having in its front end a motor sponson, echelon systems of propellers driven by the motors, and an echelon system of monoplanes stepped rearwardly from the prow of the vessel.

8. In an airship, a cabin body, a system of planes set in echelon relation from front to rear; the successive planes being of decreased length relatively from the leading plane, said leading plane being topmost and uninterrupted from end to end and the remaining planes being placed in twin arrangement and respectively projecting from the sides of said body.

9. An airship having a central body hull projecting forward into a sharp nose carrying a tractor propeller, an echelon system of propellers stepped back and down on each side of the body hull, a main, top airfoil or monoplane extending continuously across the top of the hull, and back-stepped subplanes projecting from the sides of the hull and rear of and above respective side propellers.

AUGUSTUS J. HARPSTRITE. 

